BROWN COUNTY, Ind. (WTHR) – A debate is raging in Brown County over this. A clear cut of trees along State Road 135.
The county says the logging company that they hired cleared too much. Now those who live near the clearing and those who like to stop and see the overlook agree.
If you stop at the Bean Blossom overlook along State Road 135, you won't have to wait long for this reaction.
"Why?" said Corrinne Rossa. "This is so much destruction."
They were passing through and wanted to stop and take in the beauty of Brown County.
"Driving by the lookout so we thought might as well get a couple of photos and we were like, 'look what happened. That's a lot of damage,'" Sharra Martyka added.
It's now part of a ongoing debate over who is responsible.
The Brown County Park and Recreation Department hired a crew to clear an acre for a new emergency communication tower but lack of communication led to at least eight acres being clear cut. Some say it could really be as much as 20 acres.
"I came around the road and I almost went off the road," Marc Skirvan a nearby property owner exclaimed. "I was in shock,"
He owns one of the 14 homes in Shiloh Morning Estates located just down the hill.
"My wife and I own that dam over there and if this goes that goes," he shared.
Skirvan says the runoff has turned one of the lakes near his home into a mud hole.
"The lake has a reputation for being completely clear. That is over," he fears.
So now when all this is sorted out, he is just hoping that he can get some help with the lake, the dam or his property value because he has real concerns about all three.
You can't see his property from SR 135 but that doesn't mean folks up top can't feel his pain. They can see it - at least what is left.
"I couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe it," said George Williams. "There is no reason. There aren't going to be any trees." He had just stopped by to see it for himself.
The Brown County Park and Recreation Department declined to comment Monday because of possible litigation.